Mac can be conveniently purchased from the Apple store and most of configuration allows you to upgrade the memory so that you don’t need to open the case and take the risk in using an incompatible memory which would cause system lockups.
The only thing is the upgrade from Apple store cost a lot more money if compared to the one that it purchased from a computer store. For example, an additional 2GB of memory cost $50 at Apple Store while it only cost less than $10 if you search in Pricewatch. If you’re willing to take the risk in adding extra memory in your Mac either to save money or perhaps you have a few lying around, it is best to run a memory test to make sure that the RAM is fully compatible and won’t make your Mac unstable.
Here we suggest 3 different methods to easily run a memory test on your Mac OS X including the latest Mountain Lion 10.8.
You can try the memorypressure command. See the output of my system (i5, 4 GB RAM) The system has (524288 pages with a page size of 4096). Stats: Pages free: 90009 Pages purgeable: 139593 Pages purged: 7496548 Swap I/O: Swapins: 470466 Swapouts: 530913 Page Q counts: Pages active: 407739 Pages inactive: 148277 Pages speculative: 16200 Pages throttled: 0 Pages wired down.
Dec 20, 2019 Here’s how: On the menu bar, click the Apple logo in the top left Select ‘About this Mac’ Select ‘Storage’.
Mac Snow Leopard offers an application called the Activity Monitor, which is designed to show you just how hard your CPU, hard drives, network equipment, and memory modules are working behind the scenes. To run Activity Monitor, open the Utilities folder in your Applications folder. To display each different type of usage, click the buttons.
1. Rember
Rember is actually a GUI for the popular command line memory testing tool called Memtest OS X. Instead of typing commands in terminal, you can run the test by clicking a button. You are able to test a selected amount or all of the memory, specify the number of times the tests should run and also viewing of the log. Rember includes Memtest OS X in the package so there is no need to manually download and install the memtest. Running Rember will show a table displaying the detected memory on your Mac. Select the amount of memory to test, number of loops and click the Test button to start checking the memory. When the tests is finished, Rember will show the test results.
Rember runs in Mac OS X which means that not all of the ram can be tested due to a portion of RAM being reserved for housekeeping.
Download Rember
2. Memtest86+
If your Mac has a SuperDrive, you can burn the pre-compiled bootable ISO image of the Memtest86+ and boot up the Mac with the disc. Just press and hold the C key when starting up Mac to boot from the disc.
The good thing about Memtest86+ is it runs by itself without relying on the operating system, giving you a more accurate memory test result.
Download Memtest86+
3. Apple Hardware Test
This is the recommended way by Apple to test your memory using their diagnostic tool. If you have an installation disc, insert the disc, restart your Mac, press and hold the C key. Select the language for the Apple Hardware Test and click the Test button to start testing. You can also tick the “Perform extended testing” option which would perform a more thorough test that takes considerably more time to complete. On the latest Mac OS X Mountain Lion, the Apple Hardware Test is already pre-installed and it doesn’t come with an installation disc. Simply boot up, press and hold the D key to start the Apple Hardware Test.
You can also see the amount of memory installed on your Mac at the Hardware Profile tab to confirm that the memory is correctly installed and detected. There are some Apple Hardware Test images that can be downloaded for older models. Do note that the Apple Hardware Test images are machine specific meaning that you cannot use the iBook version on a Mac Mini.
Download Apple Hardware Test
You might also like:
3 Ways to Test your RAM with Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic6 Free Programs to Check Your Video Card Memory For Errors10 Popular Web Browsers Tested for Memory and CPU UsageDownload Sony Memory Card File Rescue Software for Free.NET Framework Setup Verification Utility
7 Comments - Write a Comment
Night3 months ago
‘Closing all apps’ is an option which can be set or disabled in the Rember preferences.
Reply
I’m trying to test DRAM one bank at a time in mid-2010 Mac mini with 2 banks of 4GB Kingston DRAM each.
Rember run overnight on max cycles (255) showed when both banks were full (8GB total), there was a DRAM failure. But run overnight on max cycles (255), Rember is so slow it’s completed less than 30 cycles. I tried this twice.
Is it not possible to check one 4GB stick at a time? (Mid-2010 Mac mini standard RAM is 1GB module in each bank for total 2GB.)
Reply
Charlzm10 months ago
I have several DDR3 DIMMs I want to install, but the memory timing is not printed on them. Is there an app for Macs that can tell you what the timing is on installed DIMMs?
Reply
Rember doesn’t shut down existing programs… you do that yerself
Reply
Rakiki1 year ago
Rember is an amazing app! In regards to the comment above:
it closes all windows because to free-up whole RAM memory for tests. It’s understandable that you must save your work before you open any diagnostic app.
Works great on latest 2019 iMac where Memtest failed and Apple Diagnostic Tool is a JOKE
Reply
Rember
I ran this app and it closed all open windows and running apps without asking or warning me. That is bad software. Who knows what data I lost as a result, let alone time in reopening what I can remember was running. memtest does not do this.
Reply
Ron Helgerson5 years ago
Hope this works well, thanks!
Reply
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Updated: January 1, 2020 Home » Freeware and Software Reviews
If your computer crashes after installing a new set of RAMs, there are few possibilities. The first possibility is likely a faulty RAM, the second possibility is hardware compatibility. More often than not if it is compatibility due to overspec or underspec, your system would not boot up and will make a beeping sound.
Alternative 2020 Article ➤ 7 RAMDisk vs SSD – Ten Times Faster Read and Write Speed via RAM Virtual Disk
Ffaulty RAMs are pretty rare, almost unlikely if you bought a branded RAM such as Kingston, Samsung, Corsair, Apache and etc, this is because they performed many tests before distributing them to dealers. Based on my experience, here are some possibilities:
Defective RAM ( Use both Windows Memory Diagnostics and Memtest86 to perform a deep scan, run twice to confirm, if both tests show the RAM is in good condition, then it is most definitely another issues. )
Outdated Motherboard BIOS ( Update your Motherboard BIOS if it is outdated )
Outdated drivers and chip-sets ( Update your drivers and chipsets )
Overheating of RAM ( Use a table fan to test this )
Faulty RAM slot ( Swap RAM between slots to see if problem continues )
Incompatibility with your other hardware such as Asus NVidia GTX 970 Graphic Card. ( I’ve upgraded my RAM to 32GB from 16GB for my Dell XPS 8700, unfortunately, the solution to limit the RAM in Windows as shown in Reddit doesn’t work for me. Read more – GTX 970 unstable on system with 32 GB RAM or 64 GB RAM )
Check Memory Macos
After much trial and error, swapping graphic cards and RAMs. I’ve discovered that my Asus Strix GTX 970 is unstable when my Dell XPS 8700 has a 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury or 24GB Kingston + Samsung RAM. It runs without problem when my system has both my old (4x4GB Samsung) and new (2x8GB Kingston) 16GB RAM installed, and with no problem when it is 32GB with my older GTX 745 graphic card. This is a very old issue, Nvidia appears to be dragging their feet or this is exclusively an Asus GTX970 problem.
↓ 01 – Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool | 17 Tests | Windows
This Window memory Diagnostics Tool is the the Pre-installed memory testing software available in Microsoft Windows Vista, Window 7, windows 8 or 8.1 & windows 10. The Memory Diagnostics Tool will run automatically when you restart Windows. It might take several minutes for the tool to finish checking your computer’s memory. Once the test is completed, Windows will restart automatically. If the tool detects errors, you should contact your computer manufacturer for information about fixing them, since memory errors usually indicate a problem with the memory chips in your computer or other hardware problem. Type “Mdsched” and search for the tool.
↓ 02 – Passmark MemTest86 | 13 Tests | Windows | Mac | Linux
Memory Test Mac
MemTest86 is the original, free, stand alone memory testing software for x86 computers. MemTest86 boots from a USB flash drive or CD and tests the RAM in your computer for faults using a series of comprehensive algorithms and test patterns. The latest version of MemTest86 supports all the current technologies, including:
DDR4 RAM (and DDR2 & DDR3) support
XMP – high performance memory profiles
UEFI – The new graphical standard for BIOS
64bit – From version 5, MemTest86 is native 64bit code
ECC RAM – support for error-correcting code RAM
Secure boot – With MemTest86 being code signed by Microsoft
Graphical interface, mouse support and logging of results to disk
Self booting off USB or CD, without needing DOS, Linux nor Windows
Dual booting – Will boot to V4 in BIOS and V6 in UEFI from a single flash drive
↓ 03 – Rember | Unknown Tests | Mac
Check Memory For Macbook Air
Rember is a front-end GUI to the ‘memtest’ command line memory testing program. This application will allow the user to select the number of test loops, as well as the amount of memory to test. There is a ‘Log’ tab that will allow the user to monitor memory testing. The user can toggle a ‘verbose’ switch to limit the amount of output, and can also choose to quit Finder and other applications.
Defective memory can cause computers to malfunction, crash, and behave in a variety of ways which can sometimes baffle end users and computer technicians alike. Apple provides hardware test CDs with most of their products, and there are some third-party utilties for Mac OS X which perform memory testing. In my experience, these tools have not always been able to quickly and efficiently diagnose memory problems. Rember has been designed to simplify the testing, and diagnosis of these problems.
↓ 04 – Apple Diagnostics (Apple Hardware Test) | Mac
Apple Diagnostics is a great way to check your Mac computer’s hardware. Apple Diagnostics helps to identify the potential source of a hardware issue and provides first steps to try and resolve it. Apple Diagnostics will also help you get in touch with Apple Support for further assistance.